Doesn't Elias have pretty much the same history? Gionta, Gomez, arnott, Sykora, Clarkson, and getting 20 goals each out of a washed up Sykora and Rolston in their later years?

Thornton is an awesome player. He's just not the appropriate guy for the devils to target this summer given the current state of the team IMO.

While Elias has a roughly 15% lower career ppg average then Thornton despite playing on several cup winning teams, he is clearly an elite player as well. I don't see how that takes away from Joe Thornton making all-stars out of scrubs for a decade. Aside from the obvious ones like Samsonov, Murray, Cheechoo.. He has a very distinct positive effect on pretty much every player you put next to him.

Signing Joe and then getting Kovy back would be the most awesome line ever.

While Elias has a roughly 15% lower career ppg average then Thornton despite playing on several cup winning teams, he is clearly an elite player as well. I don't see how that takes away from Joe Thornton making all-stars out of scrubs for a decade. Aside from the obvious ones like Samsonov, Murray, Cheechoo.. He has a very distinct positive effect on pretty much every player you put next to him.

Signing Joe and then getting Kovy back would be the most awesome line ever.

No. You're wrong. Kovy is a coward and a quitter. I don't want any part of that sh!t. Thornton is the leader of a team that consistently fails in the playoffs. He's also played for the same team for a while, and if he's so good, why wouldn't the Sharks bring him back? His presence on the roster gives SJ a ridiculous amount of center depth and I don't see him wanting to leave unless SJ really wants to make some changes.

It would be like gaining another Clowe or something. Have you seen the season Kovy has had? It's still yet to be seen if he'll bounce back, but to put in simple terms, imagine being a young hockey player, midget-age, like 15-16 years old. Then you DECIDE that in order to be closer to the home, you go to play at a different ice rink, which is closer to home, but then you DECIDE to play in a division or league that is an age group lower. That is in essence what Kovy did. Kovy made his choice and he should live with it. Good luck winning a Gagarin Cup <<

Rolston was a much worse player than Joe Thornton. When you are looking at rates of decline, a good place to start is how good was the player initially? Well, Thornton was amazing, and while his goal scoring has dried up, he's still a phenomenal passer. Then I'd look at injuries - Thornton has basically suffered no serious injuries in his career, or at least not for the last 10 years.

The end can come fast. Sakic scored 100 points at age 37 and only played 60 more games. Injuries can always strike. But I'd certainly bet on Joe Thornton - he is one of the smartest players in the league. If he can stay healthy I don't doubt he could play 5 or 6 more years, most of those at a high level.

Correct. Thornton hasn't missed a game the last 3 years. In fact, he's only missed a grand total of 6 since coming over from Boston. He's very durable. The goal production is down but there are few better set up men. He needs 148 assists for 1,000. With 3 years remaining on a contract worth an average cap hit of $6.75 million, he's affordable. He and Marleau signed basically identical deals. The Sharks also have Pavelski and Couture earning 6. Burns also makes $5.76 through 2016-17. That's a lot invested in a core that has fallen short. It's a shame that such great hockey fans suffer every year.

Looking at Jumbo Joe's postseason numbers, he's never scored over 3 goals. The assists are nice. Ironically, he had 2 goals and 1 assist in the 3 wins vs LA. No points and minus-6 the final 4. Part of that was Quick, who's clutch. The Sharks' collapse coincided with the loss of top defenseman Vlasic. They were careless defensively and exposed. I like Thornton. I just wonder why he doesn't have that killer instinct. If only he played with that missing edge.

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"The greatest trick Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."

Hasan, Brian and I blog at New York Puck. Devils, Islanders, Rangers and Sabres.